Hands-on: Motorola Atrix’s Ubuntu-powered WebTop experience

In this follow-up to our review of the Motorola Atrix 4G, we take a close …

Motorola's Atrix 4G smartphone was one of the most promising products unveiled at CES earlier this year. The innovative handset can plug into a netbook shell accessory, offering a desktop-like computing experience. The netbook shell contains no processor, memory, network hardware, or internal storage—it relies entirely on the docked phone to provide those essentials.

Motorola envisions a future in which smartphones are at the heart of the connected lifestyle, adapting and integrating with peripherals to meet the user's computing needs. The Atrix is a significant first step in that direction. Although the underlying concept is extremely intriguing, the implementation still leaves a lot to be desired.

We put the Atrix hardware through its paces earlier this month in our review of the handset and the docking accessories. In this follow-up, we will take a close look at the Atrix's software, albeit without screenshots, as taking screenies in the desktop environment is impossible without rooting the device.

When the user plugs the Atrix into the netbook accessory docking connector, it will start up the embedded WebTop software environment. The WebTop platform is based on the Ubuntu Linux distribution. The user interface consists of the Firefox Web browser, a dock based on the Avant Window Navigator, and a handful of components adapted from the GNOME desktop environment. It has custom theming that prominently features black gradients.

The Web browser

As the name implies, the WebTop environment is principally intended for accessing Web content and applications. It comes with a conventional desktop version of Firefox 3.6 that works exactly as you would expect. The WebTop also comes bundled with Prism, a Mozilla Labs technology that allows Web applications to run in their own individual windows on the desktop as separate processes outside of the browser.

To evaluate the Firefox browser's performance in the Atrix's WebTop environment, we ran the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark. The final score was an unimpressive 6116.2ms. Despite the weak JavaScript performance, it proved to be acceptable for some heavier Web applications like Google Maps.

The browser comes fully equipped with Adobe's Flash plug-in for rendering rich media, but Flash performance proved to be exceptionally poor in the WebTop environment. Flash animations slowed down page scrolling speed to an extent that seriously undermined the usefulness of the browser. The problem was easily remedied, however, by installing the Flashblock extension.

MobileView

One of the most significant features of the WebTop environment is the MobileView—a direct on-screen interface to the Android software environment on the Atrix handset. It allows you to use the netbook shell's touchpad and keyboard to interact with your phone through a floating window in the WebTop environment.

When it first starts, you see your home screen exactly as it appears on the handset. You can click shortcuts, launch software from the application drawer, and interact with it exactly as you would normally. The window itself is resizable, allowing you to stretch the phone environment to whatever size is most comfortable.

A toolbar along the bottom of the window has clickable icons that represent Android's standard menu, home, back, and search icons. There is also an icon for toggling the window between landscape and portrait orientation and one for expanding it to full-screen mode. The top of the window displays a bar of tabs representing the applications that are running on the phone. The tabs serve as a task switcher that integrates with Android's internal multitasking capabilities.

The value of the MobileView is that it provides full access to your Android applications through the netbook shell, but the experience is still fundamentally phone-like. Android's kinetic scrolling, for example, was not particularly pleasant to use on the netbook shell's mediocre trackpad.

To evaluate the performance of the MobileView interface, I tested it with the popular Glow Hockey game. The game performed just as well through the MobileView as it does on the handset. The animations didn't stutter and the particle effects looked exactly as expected, even when I increased the size of the window. There is, however, a small amount of input latency. The MobileView appears to lag slightly in relaying mouse activity to the Android software as touch events. The lag is so subtle that I only noticed it while testing the game—it largely won't impact regular usage.

The WebTop environment doesn't offer a whole lot of integration yet with the underlying phone software stack, but there are a few clever features that hint at broader integration potential. For example, a black panel that runs along the top of the screen in the WebTop environment will display icons representing the current items in the Android notification panel. When I get a new direct message on Twitter, it will show a Twitter icon in the WebTop panel that I can click to launch the social networking application in the MobileView phone environment.

Filesystem and multimedia

Another point of integration is the filesystem. The WebTop comes with GNOME's Nautilus file manager, which you can use to browse the phone's internal storage or microSD card. This is especially great for a getting a bigger view of photos that you captured with the phone's camera. You can double-click the photo jpeg files to load them into the browser.

Certain kinds of files will automatically open in Android applications in the MobileView when you double-click them in the WebTop file manager. For example, if you download a Microsoft Word (.docx) file through Firefox and double-click it in the file manager, it will open in QuickOffice in the Android environment and be fully editable through the MobileView.

Another useful application that comes bundled with the WebTop environment is the Entertainment Center, a full-screen multimedia application in the same vein as Front Row. It has a simple keyboard-controlled user interface for navigating and playing multimedia content from the phone's internal storage. Annoyingly, the phone's DLNA features don't appear to be accessible through the Entertainment Center interface.

Security

The WebTop environment is heavily locked down and designed to block users from running arbitrary software. The TOMOYO Linux Mandatory Access Control framework appears to be one of the security measures in use.

Although there are a lot of conventional GNOME applications hidden away on the filesystem, the security restrictions of the WebTop environment only allow the end user to open the small handful of applications that are presented through the panels. Similarly, the Nautilus file manager is barred from navigating up the filesystem hierarchy to areas outside of the sandboxed paths with user files.

I made a few trivial attempts to circumvent these lockdown mechanisms (I was trying to get the GNOME screenshot tool to run), but wasn't particularly successful. I discovered that you can see other parts of the filesystem by using the save dialog in Firefox or putting a "file:///" URL into the browser. Using that method, I was able to copy a launcher from "/usr/share/applications" into the regular storage area. When I tried to execute the launcher through Nautilus, however, I got a permission error.

Users who want to customize the WebTop environment and run other software will have to resort to rooting. The procedure involves rooting the Atrix handset itself and then using ADB to unlock root access for the WebTop environment. The modding community has taken to affectionately describing the maneuver as "double-rooting." After the WebTop environment is rooted, you can run a terminal and use some of the other software that is included. It's worth noting, however, that you still can't just install arbitrary applications—software has to be compiled for ARM in order to run in the environment.

The interface

The WebTop interface has a panel at the top and a dock at the bottom. The left-hand side of the dock has launchers for the MobileView and several core Android components that are accessed through the MobileView. The right-hand side of the dock has the launcher for the browser and other websites.

You can click the plus button on the right-hand side to add launchers for specific websites—it lets you choose whether you want the site to open in a Prism window or as a new tab in the browser. The dock is kind of simplistic, but it's useful if you want to have a website like Google Docs open in its own window.

On the left-hand side of the dock there is a button that launches the window switcher. It shows thumbnails of all the windows and lets you select which one to bring to the front. A similar interface is associated with the alt-tab keyboard shortcut.

As I stated earlier, the left side of the panel at the top of the screen houses the notification area. The right side of the panel is dedicated to various status indicators and menus. You can control the network, GPS, and Bluetooth settings, see the battery status, or adjust the volume.

Persistence

One of the most impressive characteristics of the WebTop environment is its support for persistence. When you unplug the phone from the dock, the state of the whole environment will be preserved. When you start the WebTop environment back up later, it will be in exactly the same condition as when you left. All of your windows and tabs will remain open and will remember their positions.

This worked pretty well, but it wasn't entirely flawless. On two occasions during my tests of the device, it seemed to reset instead of restoring the previous state. I wasn't able to reproduce the issue consistently, however.

An application on the Android side will allow you to look at the tabs that you had open in your last WebTop session, making it easy to pick up where you left off without having to plug the phone back into the dock.

Conclusion

The concept of a netbook-like accessory for smartphones isn't exactly new. We have seen a handful of similar products in the past, including the ill-fated Palm Folio and the Redfly mobile companion devices. Motorola's implementation is pretty compelling, though still quite limited.

It needs more applications and better phone integration in the WebTop environment. At present, the lack of software selection is really what limits the netbook shell accessory from being competitive with a conventional netbook. The mediocre browser performance and low quality of the keyboard and trackpad on the shell itself are also problematic.

Despite the general lack of mainstream usefulness and the weaknesses in the user experience, the Atrix WebTop platform seems to have a lot of potential. There's a lot of real innovation going on in this product and so much room for great improvements that it's hard to not be excited about the possibilities. If Motorola can bring more courage and imagination to the project, it could deliver a great computing experience across multiple form factors.

I personally don't see the draw... IMO this is a solution in search of a problem...

Pretty much agree.

* There are other ways for a smart phone to work with a larger screen including;- Sync the phone with a laptop/netbook/desktop (which most smart phone users will be doing).- Transfer the phone apps/files to a tablet (at this time through a PC/laptop) which can include an external keyboard.

This kind of transfer between smart phones, PCs/laptops and tablets is going to get easier and more widespread over time. A smart phone powering a netbook shell is not needed imo.

You aren't thinking far enough ahead. As processing power goes up and power usage goes down, your computer will be your smart phone (if not a smaller device). There will be no 'syncing'. You'll do all your work on the smartphone and you'll connect it (whether by physical or wireless connection) to other forms of input (keyboard/mouse) and output (larger screens) when you want to and when they're available.

If you want other forms of input/output, you'll have those as 'stations' in the locations you'll expect to use them (home/work) and even maybe public ones like the library. Other times, you'll be doing the same work using the touch screen. Alternately, you'll 'click' your smartphone into the back of a larger touch screen and now you have a tablet. You won't have, or need, multiple computing devices. You'll have one. It fits in your pocket. You'll connect it to other forms of input/output if/when you want. You'll have your "full" computer with you all the time, everywhere you go. You'll never be without your data or the applications you use on it (whether they are stored locally on your smartphone or in a cloud).

I disagree. There will still be a syncing aspect for those times (believe it or not) where bandwidth is inadequate, unavailable, or cloud computing insecure (against policy, or just, perhaps, something you want to keep ahold of)

That said, I think there will be an identity component that let's you see all your stuff from whatever device you care to pick up. And whether it's sync'd or I. The cloud won't matter as that'll be ranked by software. (e.g. Your Netflix queue will have the top two or three movies sync'd for the flight, the latest two week's emails will be on the device...photos you took last year and have never looked at will have light thumbnails on the device, but the raw images will be in the cloud.)

RDP type protocols already easily handle differences in resolution, I fail to see why an Atrix keyboard/screen couldn't just be an rdp session to the phone.

I disagree. There will still be a syncing aspect for those times (believe it or not) where bandwidth is inadequate, unavailable, or cloud computing insecure (against policy, or just, perhaps, something you want to keep ahold of)

That said, I think there will be an identity component that let's you see all your stuff from whatever device you care to pick up. And whether it's sync'd or in the cloud won't matter as that'll be ranked by software. (e.g. Your Netflix queue will have the top two or three movies sync'd for the flight, the latest two week's emails will be on the device...photos you took last year and have never looked at will have light thumbnails on the device, but the raw images will be in the cloud.)

RDP type protocols already easily handle differences in resolution, I fail to see why an Atrix keyboard/screen couldn't just be an rdp session to the phone.

Was a neat idea with Foleo, and still is but physical connections are the weak link. It's data that needs to be displayed and in that respect, the phone should be a wireless drive. There is a software/wireless solution that beats the Atrix's setup. As it is, a desk is required or a stable lap in an area where you'd be sure no one will walk with your phone.

Was a neat idea with Foleo, and still is but physical connections are the weak link. It's data that needs to be displayed and in that respect, the phone should be a wireless drive. There is a software/wireless solution that beats the Atrix's setup. As it is, a desk is required or a stable lap in an area where you'd be sure no one will walk with your phone.

Was a neat idea with Foleo, and still is but physical connections are the weak link. It's data that needs to be displayed and in that respect, the phone should be a wireless drive. There is a software/wireless solution that beats the Atrix's setup. As it is, a desk is required or a stable lap in an area where you'd be sure no one will walk with your phone.

Was a neat idea with Foleo, and still is but physical connections are the weak link. It's data that needs to be displayed and in that respect, the phone should be a wireless drive. There is a software/wireless solution that beats the Atrix's setup. As it is, a desk is required or a stable lap in an area where you'd be sure no one will walk with your phone.

this is a good idea but it is sucky in its implementation first off it is more expensive than several tablets that have the same hardware ($500-$600 for a little phone or $300 for an elocity 7' tablet hmm) that is without the laptop dock.

second it requires a huge contract just to use the laptop dock 2x data plans + phone service they basically made the most important feature of this phone worthless unless you pay that huge fee and they will sell you the dock even-though you don't have this.

Greed has ruined an otherwise awesome device so in the end your better off with a tablet + an android handset.I call epic fail on this.

Good point, but I thunk it would be more appropriate to say it's 360 degrees of fail. Drop a person in the middle of it, and no matter where they look (hardware, software, cost, data raping) all you see is fail.

This needs to be a single OS, $75 unlimited dataplan, $200 phone on contract, and the dock needs to be $125. It needs a drop-box client, and looking at a document on the phone or dock needs to act identically.

The Atrix+Webtop is not trying to attract consumers (or apple fanboys). This is a business tool that a great number of executives and sales/marketing folks will be screaming to get their hands on. Add in the pre-installed Citrix application that gives you access to a full windows environment (I suggest wifi over 3G...) and you've got a winner (without the tiger blood).

Well, I am an Atrix owner and would have loved to have purchased the lapdock. But, there are two glaring features missing that I must have. Otherwise I would be carrying around a laptop and the lapdock.

1a. Gestures. You have to mouse over to the scroll bar to scroll. Its a small scrollbar and a large trackpad.1b. Gestures. There is no scroll area on the track pad.2. Webcam. When docked, the phone's camera is blocked by the LCD. They need to add a webcam to the lapdock.

3. You have to downgrade from "Unlimited" to 4Gb/mo plan. Then you have to pay the $15 tethering fee. My iPhone usage was 5GB last month...

After that, I would purchase one and make it my primary computer, if I could keep my unlimited plan.

I disagree. There will still be a syncing aspect for those times (believe it or not) where bandwidth is inadequate, unavailable, or cloud computing insecure (against policy, or just, perhaps, something you want to keep ahold of)

Yes, you'll sync to your device that you carry around in your pocket.

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That said, I think there will be an identity component that let's you see all your stuff from whatever device you care to pick up.

Yup... and you'll always want some device with you to do stuff with (your smartphone is a good form factor for that). People still like to 'have' something so while public terminals may exist, most people will still want something of their own to keep with them at all times... for when you don't have immediate access to a public terminal, for example.

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RDP type protocols already easily handle differences in resolution, I fail to see why an Atrix keyboard/screen couldn't just be an rdp session to the phone.

That would require more 'smarts' in the keyboard/screen than there probably are. Not that it would necessarily be an issue, but it's still more cost/etc.

Was a neat idea with Foleo, and still is but physical connections are the weak link. It's data that needs to be displayed and in that respect, the phone should be a wireless drive. There is a software/wireless solution that beats the Atrix's setup. As it is, a desk is required or a stable lap in an area where you'd be sure no one will walk with your phone.

1. The Foleo was more then this, as it had its own CPU and OS. Basically the Foleo was in a sense the first smartbook.

2. There is more to the dock then just a screen and keyboard. It also exposes USB ports, so that one can attach usb devices of various kinds (if supported by the kernel and software). And it holds a extra battery, both to power the screen and to charge the phone. So when the phone is docked it do not need to drain its internal battery.

I disagree. There will still be a syncing aspect for those times (believe it or not) where bandwidth is inadequate, unavailable, or cloud computing insecure (against policy, or just, perhaps, something you want to keep ahold of)

Sadly, syncing have never been without issues (even when working within the confines of a tightly controlled ecosystem).

I'll buy that -- no, make mine a double. My computing dream is to carry around data/cpu/smallscreen block, which clips into bigscreen/keyboard at work, and into reallybigscreen/keyboard/gpu at home, and snaps together with a slim telephony/battery pack for when I want something that fits in a pocket.

Yep, my 'dream' too. the only trouble here is that I can;t see why they chose a laptop-form factor. I would think that the 3 things you need to make your phone into a 'desktop' equivalent is:1. a power supply (so it can not only charge, but draw more juice for the CPU and un-throttle it to a full speed that you wouldn't want when it was running on batteries)2. a big TV like, say, a TV. Give the charging-dock a HDMI connector and this is solved.3. a keyboard and/or mouse. All these devices have bluetooth, so its not hard to connect a BT keyboard and mouse. Give the dock a usb port too and you've got all kinds of peripherals you can plug into it.

Net result - ubiqutous desktop computing you can put in your pocket and continue to work when mobile. I'm sure its inexpensive too, bt keyboards are pretty cheap, and everyone has a TV or a monitor on their desk already. All you'd need is a couple of cheap, little docking stations, one for home, one for work.

Now, the problems with this approach replacing our current ways of working: CPU power isn't as good as what you have in a desktop machine, though I doubt anyone would really notice the difference except in special circumstances. Note that even though our PCs have become tremendously more powerful than they ever used to be, the apps we run seem to be as slow as ever, mobile devices would get more optimised apps (ie they don't seem to be bad right now) so maybe the lack of CPU power wouldn't an issue in the end.Graphics too - I don;t think you can run crysis on your phone (but you can run Quake2!), so maybe we have to be less satisfied with our graphics, or stick to playing games on PCs. For work purposes, I think my phone has better graphics capability than the "business grade" graphics card that my work PC has anyway!

But of course, it won;t work unless you have an open platform -OS and hardware. Maybe one manufacturer will do that soon, and the era of the desktop PC will be well and truly over.

dont see the point.if its the size and form factor of a laptop/netbook, why not use that?

I guess they were thinking you would only carry your phone - the docking platform would be "ubiquitous" ... in all the libraries, cafés and schools/universities in the world.

Ding ding ding!

I have to say I'm disappointed in the stupidity of some of the commenters here who cannot grok this approach.

I'll buy that -- no, make mine a double. My computing dream is to carry around data/cpu/smallscreen block, which clips into bigscreen/keyboard at work, and into reallybigscreen/keyboard/gpu at home, and snaps together with a slim telephony/battery pack for when I want something that fits in a pocket.

I see the value here. I agree ith Fitten on the future. At some point (in the next few years) this and some cloud storage is all I'll ever need. I like the idea of carrying my data with me at all times.

I suppose a painless and complete sync would get me most of the way there today but I haven't seen it. MS "briefcase" or iTunes sync are not doing it for me.

I'll buy that -- no, make mine a double. My computing dream is to carry around data/cpu/smallscreen block, which clips into bigscreen/keyboard at work, and into reallybigscreen/keyboard/gpu at home, and snaps together with a slim telephony/battery pack for when I want something that fits in a pocket.

Yep, my 'dream' too. the only trouble here is that I can;t see why they chose a laptop-form factor. I would think that the 3 things you need to make your phone into a 'desktop' equivalent is:1. a power supply (so it can not only charge, but draw more juice for the CPU and un-throttle it to a full speed that you wouldn't want when it was running on batteries)2. a big TV like, say, a TV. Give the charging-dock a HDMI connector and this is solved.3. a keyboard and/or mouse. All these devices have bluetooth, so its not hard to connect a BT keyboard and mouse. Give the dock a usb port too and you've got all kinds of peripherals you can plug into it.

Motorola's got a good idea (aside from the plan changes and tethering charges), but I'd prefer if I could boot any computer into webtop. That way my ubiquitous docking station is already ubiquitous. Better still if you could also connect your phone to a computer and MobileView was an app on the phone's mounted usb partition. You can use a real computer normally, but also have access to your android apps and data. (Using PortableFirefox might be good too.) This might be difficult since mobileview would need to run on windows and mac as well as linux, but would be more useful to me (someone who doesn't own a netbook).

Motorola is barking up the right tree. They just don't have the right hardware and software to make it work, nor the resources to develop them. Five years from now, when Apple is selling a bajillion iDocks for their mobile devices, many internet debates will spring up saying that Motorola did it first, but Apple did it right.

Motorola is barking up the right tree. They just don't have the right hardware and software to make it work, nor the resources to develop them. Five years from now, when Apple is selling a bajillion iDocks for their mobile devices, many internet debates will spring up saying that Motorola did it first, but Apple did it right.

The nice things about Thunderbolt are:It's not limited to just Apple (it's an Intel technology, Apple is just the first to use it)It can act as an external extension of PCI-E, so docking stations wouldn't need to be specific to one kind of device.

This is nice because it allows all the various peripheral devices to be cleanly separated from the main processor. It would be very interesting if the main processor, RAM, storage, and wireless communication of computers moved into a standalone ultraportable form factor (a.k.a. phone) with its own touchscreen, and all other peripherals connected through a single external bus like Thunderbolt. A "desktop computer" would essentially be a docking station.

Obviously there would still be demand for PCs with more processing power than the limitations of portability and battery-life would allow, but even these could essentially be plugin boxes that connected to a standard docking station through Thunderbolt. Things like optical drives, USB ports, monitors, etc would all be part of the docking station, not the "processor module". Of course, to fully utilize the potential benefits of this system, phones will need to start running operating systems that can actually do everything a PC can do, or better yet, standardize their hardware enough that you can just install whatever OS you want on any phone (like with PCs).

With a Linux-based operating system, they could probably quite easily have a single OS with multiple different desktop environments installed suitable for different form-factors. For example, they might be able to use the MeeGo interface when operating on the phone's built-in screen, but switch to GNOME, or Unity, or KDE when a keyboard, mouse, and large screen are detected. The user's files and applications would be available in any environment, they would just be presented in a way suitable to the available interface devices.

Right now, processing power on phones is still a bit limited compared to even relatively low end PCs (or netbooks), but it's moving fairly quickly toward the "good enough for most tasks" area. For portability, there's a huge difference between a phone and a tablet or netbook. The size of a pocket. A phone fits in it, and a netbook doesn't. As far as portability is concerned, a netbook or tablet is only marginally more portable than my 17" 1920x1200 laptop. If I'm packing for a trip, I can bring it with me, but I won't be carrying it around all the time. A netbook might be smaller and a few pounds lighter, but the size and weight aren't the problem, it's the need to carry an extra item. On the other hand, my N900 is in my pocket any time I leave the house (except when it's out of my pocket being used, obviously).

What I want from a mobile device is a lot of storage, a good enough built-in interface to use it standalone, and a good way of connecting it to a better (non-portable or less portable) interface when one is available. The N900 was one of the better phones around in terms of storage capacity when I got it (I haven't really looked at what's come out in the year and a half since then), but even with 32GB internal plus a 16GB microSD, it gets filled up pretty quickly.

* There are other ways for a smart phone to work with a larger screen including;- Sync the phone with a laptop/netbook/desktop (which most smart phone users will be doing).- Transfer the phone apps/files to a tablet (at this time through a PC/laptop) which can include an external keyboard.

This kind of transfer between smart phones, PCs/laptops and tablets is going to get easier and more widespread over time. A smart phone powering a netbook shell is not needed imo.

You aren't thinking far enough ahead... Alternately, you'll 'click' your smartphone into the back of a larger touch screen and now you have a tablet.

I've never been a fan of docking stations as they are proprietary and can quickly become obsolete with a hardware upgrade. I'd rather connect my phone using standard cable connectors or standard wireless connections.

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You'll connect it to other forms of input/output if/when you want.

To do this a special notebook is not needed. - Just have standard (bluetooth, USB) for connecting I/O.- As for larger screens, just have a video out on the phone (HDMI) to connect with a standard monitor.

I've never been a fan of docking stations as they are proprietary and can quickly become obsolete with a hardware upgrade. I'd rather connect my phone using standard cable connectors or standard wireless connections.

Well the Motorola connector is basically a mini-HDMI and micro-USB side by side. So either can also be plugged in directly as wires.

Still, there is PDMI. But so far few companies have made use of it (and Samsung have apparently managed to mess up even that).

I would buy one instantly, and for any price, under the following conditions:

1. Motorola drops the bootloader crap preventing me from doing what I want with my own device2. Motorola lets me attach my device to *any* keyboard, mouse, and HDMI screen3. Motorola doesn't lock *me* out of *my* device with these stupid access restrictions in Ubuntu4. If Ubuntu was involved in this in any way, Mr. Shuttleworth publicly apologises for blatant hypocrisy.

In other words, this is a perverted and useless version of *exactly what I want and would be willing to pay laptop prices for*.

I don't understand how these guys' don't get that by TRYING to make boatloads of money off this stupid little novelty phone and expensive dock, they are cock-blocking themselves from making EVEN MORE money by making an phone capable of actually replacing your laptop?

Yes, but from what I understand, you can't actually *use* the HDMI port. It is just there for their weird "picture viewer mode" where you can show photos and videos to your friends on your TV. You can't use it as a display port for the webtop OS - that feature doesn't work without the "dock" which is the size of a laptop, so why not just get a laptop.

Here is the scenario in which the thing would be useful, but they totally missed:

1. People who currently take a laptop from home and work, and also have a smart phone2. Put a full featured Ubuntu release on it, so that you can do actual work3. Have a bluetooth keyboard, mouse, charger, and HDMI monitor setup at both home and work4. Commute back and forth with only your phone in your pocket5. When you get to work, just plug it in, and away you go.6. If you end up at someone else's place, a boardroom, whatever, you can still connect it to a projector, and maybe plug in a standard USB keyboard.

That is the "killer use" that they have totally missed by putting on a crippled OS, you couldn't actually use it to do any "real" work. As far as portability, you'd have to buy their stupid dock for both home and work, then you could commute with just your phone in your pocket, but you'd have a shit keyboard and small monitor when you got there, instead of the nice 20" $200 LCD you could pick up. You could just carry the dock around with you, but then you've got a crappy laptop that you have to plug your phone into for it to run.

The hardware is capable of truly revolutionary things, but the locked-down software only envisions some of the truly basic things you could do with it. So, by trying to make a bunch of money from their crappy dock, they totally missed out on making even more money by killing the laptop dead.

Whis is where many of these manufacturers fail. How many times have we had them over promise and under deliver? (this has an SD slot, but you can't use it, we have a camera up front, but no real use for it)

Say what you want about apple, but the device they give you is 100% useable, out of the box. (yeah, yeah, no multitasking or cut and paste on release, but the devices worked just fine without them, and there was never a mention of " well, we ran out of time, we'll get that to you in an update")

Yes, but from what I understand, you can't actually *use* the HDMI port. It is just there for their weird "picture viewer mode" where you can show photos and videos to your friends on your TV. You can't use it as a display port for the webtop OS - that feature doesn't work without the "dock" which is the size of a laptop, so why not just get a laptop.

note the photo, where the phone, showing a clock, is docked into the multimedia dock and the screen next to it is showing the webtop interface. This is also expanded on in the video.

Edit: I see now that i may have misread your entry, sorry.

I didn't realize they had a separate "multimedia dock" and "laptop dock". Indeed the little multimedia dock goes a long way to fix these problems. Though it sucks having to buy two docks for home and work, this might make it tolerable. My only question now is: can I use Synaptic PM to put the stuff I need on it (like MonoDevelop, Chrome, MySql) or is it locked down to just what Motorola wants you to have?

P.S, as convenient as an all-in-one dock might be, it would still be tremendously handy to just plug it into a regular HDMI monitor without a dock, and have it go into webtop mode.

From what i can tell the current state of the webtop is locked down. If this will change i do not know.

and i do wonder about the direct plugin myself now, as the connectors are simply a mini-hdmi and a micro-usb side by side. I guess the docks report themselves as something other then just a usb hub. Still, this seems to trigger a in-phone menu that allows one to fire up either the webtop or the multimedia controls. As such, one would think that would be a way to do so manually from the phone ui.

I guess if the hack matures enough to where a lot of people report having tried it and not bricking their phones, I might buy one, but it bugs me to buy a device where I have to do a bunch of tricky work-arounds to get features that (should've been enabled by default). (Edit: "shouldn't have been explicitly disabled")

If I ever get one, or find out more, I'll post here. My end goal, as cheesy as it may be, is to work at least one entire day developing Mono & JavaScript on solely my phone. If I could do that, then I believe the device I did it on would be what I thought this phone could be.